


Christmas Eve

by Mislav



Category: Cold Case
Genre: Case Fic, Gen, Season/Series 08
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-09 02:03:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5521400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mislav/pseuds/Mislav
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In 2005, a young man dressed in Santa Claus costume was found dead, face down, in the river. Years later, the DNA analysis reveals the victim's identity, shedding some light on this mysterious case. Case!fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I don't own any of the Cold Case characters and I am not making any money from writing this.
> 
> Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.
> 
> This story takes place in "season eight" (post season seven), around Christmas time 2010. It is a case!fic: a lot of focus on the investigation with some character dynamic/friendship along the way. No shipping. While most episodes have songs from the year the murder happened playing in the background of the flashbacks, this one just includes many different Christmas songs from many different decades.
> 
> This idea comes from the IMDb user d_henderson1810. Thank you so much! This is dedicated to you.
> 
> Cast
> 
> Oliver Hudson as Danny Morgan
> 
> Missy Crider as Amy Smith
> 
> Patrick Warbruton as Bruce Walters
> 
> Percy Daggs III as Keith Newman
> 
> William Langham as Alan Summer
> 
> Renee Felice Smith as Bridget Summer

December 23rd, 2005

(Last Christmas by Wham!)

The young man in the Santa Claus costume was standing on a sidewalk, looking around and getting every pedestrian cheerfully. There was a red plastic tripod near by, a bag hanging from it, filled with coins and some bills. Some would greet him too and drop some money into the bag. Many would just walk by.

One eldery man, wearing a big wool coat, stopped and observed the young man, whose name was actually Danny Morgan, for some time, then dropped two ten dollar bills in the bag before continuing on his way.

"Merry Christmas!", Danny said, smiling. The man said the same think and went on with his way without giving Danny another look.

Danny looked down the street for a moment, then sighed, checked the money in the bag, closed it, removed it from the and put it over his shoulder. He left the tripod in the corner-it was too heavy to get stolen, not to mention not really valuable. Still, he looked around before making his way to the establishment on the other end of the street. He hesitate for a moment, almost feeling nostalgic somehow, but he eventually took a deep breath and walked inside.

The diner was modest, but well decorated and pretty warm. There were about ten round tables with chairs around them, more than half of them crowded, mostly with smaller groups of people. Nobody was sitting at the counter, and young blonde Womn was standing behind it, looking about an interested as ever while doing dishes (by that point just a few dirty plates and glasses). Danny felt a bit silly while making his way toward the counter, most of the people either not laying attention to him or just giving him a glance or two, though it felt nice to see the few children inside happy.

"Hi", he said a bit awkwardly to the waitress before sitting down, sighing as he did.

"Hi", she replied politely, smiling back. "What can I get for you?"

Danny rubbed his hands together. "Oh, just some coffee", he said.

"Sure", the waitress replied before. While waiting for his order, Danny looked around the cafe. It was full of people: some young, some old, some Happy, some sad, some just indifferent. But, for the most part, the customers were obviouly friends and family members, gathered in small groups, talking together, smiling and laughing, the Christmas spirit quite obvious about most of them. Danny sighed, a pained look flashing over his face for a moment, when the waitress put the white ceramic mug full of warm coffee on the table in front of him.

"We are pretty busy lately", Jenny commented, having apparently noticed Danny looking at the customers. She put some dirty glasses into the sink. "A few locals and people here on a visit to their families or friends... some just stop by on the way."

"What about you?", she asked carefully after Danny took a sip of coffee.

"Huh?", Danny muttered, obviously taken aback.

"I've been seeing you around a lot lately", she explained.

"I have some... business to finish here, but I'll be back home tomorrow."

"Oh." She smiled sweetly at him. "That's too bad."

It was then that the small door in the corner, near the counter, creaked open. The owner, Brad Walters, a heavy set Caucasian man in his forties, with short brown hair and brown eyes, walked out, looking around until his gaze stopped on Amy. "Amy!", he called out.

Amy flinched, stopping in her tracks as she turned to face her boss. "Yes, mr. Walters?"

"Move those boxes out of the storage!", Brad ordered in a soar voice. "I see that nobody is waiting for orders. It's about time." He glared at her. "Still, make it fast."

Amy looked away. "OK", she agreed silently. The rest of the customers glared at the conversation, exchanged a few whispers, but that was it.

"And hurry up with the dishes!", he groaned before retreating back into his office, slamming the door shut behind. Amy put the rest of the glasses down in the sink too, then looked at Danny, who gave her a small, empathetic smile.

"So much about the Christmas spirit", Amy commented. She wiped the surface of the counter with a cloth a few times before putting it away and then turning around, heading to the other end of the establishment. "It isn't even my line of work", she mumbled.

Danny smiled sadly and took another sip of coffee.

Just one more night, and then, he will be back home.

And maybe find some happiness there again.

#

December 24th, 2005

Danny's body laid lifelessly, face down, in a river, slowly sinking down the small area that didn't turn into ice yet. He was still dressed in a Santa costume, his blood stained face mostly concealed with the water and near by chuncks of ice.

There was nobody else around, and the sky was pitched black by that point, stars clearly visible, as well as a shiny full moon.

The snow kept falling down.

#

The young detective from missing person's case put the box on one of the shelves in the storage room. "MORGAN, D." was written on the lid. He looked at it sadly before turning around and walking away.

#

Lilly sighed upon noticing the change of interior once she walked into the office: ornaments hanging from the wall. There was nit mistletoe anywhere, thank God. Scotty was already there, sitting at the desk opposite to herself and doing some paperwork. John was probably in his office and it was probably going to take some more time for Nick and Kat to arrive: it was pretty snowy outside.

"They have already put up decorations, huh?", she commented, looking around.

Scotty chuckled. "Well, it's about time, Lil'." She sat down at her desk. Scotty observed her, smiling. "What? Not your thing?"

Lilly smiled slightly. "Just not my thing."

"Christmas or the?", Scotty teased.

Lilly grinned. "Don't push it, Scotty."

At first, they didn't even notice John walking over to them. "Speaking about the Christmas mood", he commented drily before hanging each of them one copy of the case file. He started his summation before they even begun reading.

"Danny Morgan", he explained. "Found dead the day after Christmas 2005 in, his body partially frozen by that point. The river wasn't that deep on that end and the ice would build up pretty fast, otherwise who knows what woulf become of it. Shot twice in the head. Well, face, to be exact. Caliber .45. No match in IBIS."

Scotty frowned. "I remember reading about that. Man found murdered, wearing the Santa Claus uniform, no clues about the identity... bizarre. I don't remember much of the details though.

Lilly looked up from the file. "Why is this case being re opened?", she asked. "A new clue?"

"Yes, identification", John said. Lilly and Scotty looked at him, surprised. "The body wasn't identified until tomorrow, via DNA. Found the hit in the missing person's database."

"They only added his DNA profile in the database recently?", Scotty questioned. "He was murdered five years ago."

John sighed. "A work error. The person in charge, whoever he was, stored Danny's info, photograph, dental records and fingerprint samples in the database, but forgot to add the DNA profile. The techs examined the database after the servers crashed and somebody noticed that there was a lot about Danny on there but no his DNA profile, and thought that was odd. He reported that, the quick investigation was launched, the error was discovered, the records of his DNA profile were found in the police archive, added to the database and compared to the ones relating to cold cases... and they found the match."

Scotty scratched his head. "Well, that's... interesting."

"There is no evidence of an intentional wrongdoing", John assured him. "Nobody involved has any known connection to the case."

"No wonder that the other info wasn't of much help", Lilly read, going through the file. "His face was badly deformed due to the gunshots. He last visited the dentist when he was fifteen. The inner flesh ok his hands was really damaged by the time the body was found due to the low temperature..." She grimaced. "And fish."

"Not to mention, Danny lived in a different neighborhood", Scotty added. "The body was found in Schoykill river, near the city centre. He never lived there-well, not close to the river-never worked there, had no known connections to that area. Neither her nor any of his family and friends."

"So, what was he doing there?", she wondered.

She looked back at the Christmas decorations for a while, then turned her attention to the crime scene photograph, showing Danny's body laying face down in a frozen river.

~OPENING ROLES AND CREDITS~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't own any of the Cold Case characters and I am not making any money from writing this.
> 
> Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.

They were all in the main work room within an hour. Lilly and John were standing in front of the board, plastered with crime scene photographs and forensic reports. Others were sitting at their desks, studying the case files. John was the one to start the summation.

"No surviving family. His parents died in a car accident when he was twenty four, in 2004. His younger sister committed suicide in 2005." He turned his attention back to the board. "He worked as a news editor for a car magazine from 2001 to 2005." In December 2005, a month after his sister committed suicide, he quit his job and took off. Nobody has seem him since. But he was only reporter missing on December 27th, by his friend and a former colleague, Stephen Parker."

"Emptied his bank account, apparently disposed of his cellphone too", Will read.

"The water ruined all of the possible evidence", Lilly explained. "But the forensics managed to recover small traces of heroine on Danny's costume."

"Jolly ol' Santa", Nick commented.

"However", Lilly said, glaring at him, "tox screens didn't reveal any drugs in his system."

"No usable shoe prints or tyre tracks found near the crime scene", Kat read. "They couldn't tell for sure, but they always suspected that the river was a secondary crime scene."

"The robbery could have been the movie", Scotty concluded. "A red plastic tripod was found in the ditch near by. But no money."

"I doubt that a mugger would bother with such a cover up", Will objected.

Lilly pointed at one of the crime scene photographs on the board, showing two wrinkled, still wet paper receipts. "They found this in his pocket", she explained. "Two receipts from a boot twenty miles away. One for the coffee and pie, issued on December 24th 2005, and the one for coffee issued the day prior, both in "The Walters' Diner". All of the employees claimed that nobody matching the description has ever frequented it."

"Let's go see will this refresh their memory", Nick decided, standing up, the case file in hand.

#

Stephen Parker was looking down at the floor, his hands pressed against his temples and his elbows on his knees. He was in his apartment, in the living room, sitting on the couch, opposite to Nick and Kat, who were sitting on the sofa. He still looked pretty much the same he had five years ago, only with a lighter hair and a bit thinner.

"I just can't believe it", he said silently before looking up, his eyes watery. "Even after all these years, I still hoped..." He stopped, taking a deep breath and rubbing his eyes.

"Do you know if Danny had any enemies?", Kat asked gently.

Stephen sighed, leaning back in his spot. "No, not that I know of." He smiled sadly. "Though I haven't seen him much... in December."

Nick leaned over, pulling a notepad and a pen out of his pocket. "It would appear that Danny quiting his job was quite... sudden."

Stephen clasped his hands together. "To some. But I guess I should have seen it coming..."

(Do You See What I See by Carrie Underwood)

Stephen rushed over to his friend's desk, having just heard the terrible news and still not being able to believe it. He shuddered, seeing Danny cleaning up his desk slowly.

"Danny!", he cried, rushing over to him. Danny stopped and turned to face him, a mixture of indifference and some slight sadness on his face. "I just heard that you are quitting", Stephen sighed.

"Well, you heard well", Danny answered calmly.

Stephen looked at Danny with wide eyes, feeling himself shiver. "What the hell, man?", he cried. "You've been here for four years!"

Danny looked back at him, putting his hands on his hips. He remained in that position for some time, silent, like he was trying to think of what to say, or actually wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Eventually, he sighed, turned around, picked up his box and started leaving.

Stephen looked at him, baffled, before grabbing him by the forearm. Danny stopped with a groan. "How are you going to live, man?", he asked silently, looking Danny in the eyes.

Danny gulped, a pained look appearing on his face. "I have some savings. And I don't need much. Not anymore."

"You should have told me!"

"I needed time to finally decide too... remember our talks. And once I have, I didn't want to reconsider it all again." He tried to smile. "This is for the best, believe me." He patted Stephen on the shoulder. "We'll be in touch."

Stephen exhaled and looked around. He loosened the grip on his friend's forearm. "Come on, man", he whispered. "You're not a quiter."

Danny nodded his head. "You're right, I'm not." He smiled sadly. "But I just can't do this anymore."

Stephen took a step closer, furrowing his eyebrows. "Jenny made a choice...", he said softly.

Danny turned red in the face, his jaw clenched. He pushed Stephen away, taking a few steps backwards right away. "We'll stay in touch", Danny promised. He took one more look at his baffled best friend. "I'm sorry", he said, then turned around and walked away.

Steven was looking after him longingly, still feeling that he should stop him. But he didn't know how.

"Jenny, his sister?", Kat questioned.

Stephen nodded his head. "Yes." He took a deep breath. "I always had a feeling that Danny felt responsible for her suicide... he almost flat out admitted that to me a few times."

Nick frowned. "Why would he feel that way?"

Stephen rubbed his eyes. "He was working hard, trying to support both himself and Jenny, to secure her a good future. But she missed her parents, she was suffering from a depression, and he didn't notice."

Nick and Kat exchanged a look. Stephen was looking down at the floor, breathing heavily. "Did you hear from him since?", she asked.

Steven chuckled briefly. "Yes... last time being a few days before Christmas. He would tell me about the motels he would stay in, all those charities... I told everything to the police the first time around."

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Please find the person who did that to him", he managed to say.

#

Bruce glared at Scotty and Lilly, sitting at the table in his office. He had put some weight since 2005, and his hair was messier, but he otherwise looked the same. Tge office was pretty crowded: two closest at each side, filled with paperwork, TV on the cupboard in the corner, calendar and several framed photographs on the walls. The two detectives eyed him suspiciously, waiting for him to answer their question.

"Look, I don't know what to tell to you guys", he said. "If everyone said that they didn't see him, then that's it."

Scotty frowned. "He had two receipts in his possession, issued from the diner owned by you", he pointed out.

Bruce scratched his head, shifting in his chair. "Look, we are always busy on holidays. Not many customers remember each other. I certainly can't remember everyone!"

Lilly crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you sure that this apparent amnesia isn't caused by you... I don't know... trying to save at least some of your reputation? Maybe you... encouraged your employees to do the same?"

Bruce gulped, gripping with his hands at his desk. "I have no idea what are you talking about", he whispered.

"We did some research", Lilly explained calmly. "From 2007 to 2009, there were some break ins into your place... it would sure suck if somebody would link it to murder in any way. Especially around Christmas time."

"Do you seriously think that I would interfere with a police investigation in order to save a few bucks?", Bruce scoffed.

"Any of the people who worked there at the time... do any of them still work here."

Bruce sighed. A short silence ensued. "No", he admitted. "But I can give you their names if it's necessary."

#

Amy's bakery was actually almost as big as Bruce'a diner. There was a big glass case that served as a counter, filled with cakes and many different kinds of cookies. Shelves near by were covered by small wooden baskets, containing many different kinds of bread and bagel. The ones in the opposite corner mostly contained muffins. Scotty breathed in the smells, smiling as he did. He noticed Lilly looking around, with a slight smile on her face. There were Christmas ornaments in the bakery too, but Lilly seemed to be trying not playing attention to them.

Amy put her hands on her hips as she walked closer to Scotty and Lilly. They both noted that she barely changed all since 2005. She was wearing a pink T-shirt, white apron and jeans, all three articles stained with flour.

"I worked there from 2003 to 2005", she said matter of factly. "Real pain."

Lilly smirked. "I imagine."

"He makes the waitresses do pretty much everything." She groaned. "Especially Christmas time 2005. The other waitress was sick most of the time, so I had to do most of the work."

"Is that why you couldn't remember a young man in the Santa suit?", Scotty asked.

Amy flinched. She said nothing.

"It is really hard to solve a murder case with little to no leads", Lilly said softly. "Especially after five years have passed. So anything can be of use to us."

"We finally identified him", Scotty added. "Danny Morgan. So..."

Amy coughed silently, running a hand through her hair. "Now that you mention it... now I think I remember... the person matching that description... frequting that diner... a few times, that year, around that time." She sighed. "And I think his name was Danny."

Lilly and Scotty exchanged a look before turning to face her.

"Do you know if he had any enemies?", Scotty asked. "Did he get in fight with anyone there."

Amy shook her head. "Not that I noticed. And he didn't talk much about himself." Ahe sighed. "He looked kind of sad."

"When was the last time you saw him?", Lilly asked.

"On Christmas Eve."

(Christmas Lights by Coldplay)

Amy eyed the petite brunette sitting in the corner of the booth suspiciously. The girl had been sitting there for half an hour, alone, just sipping her one mug filled with tea and looking as jumpy as ever. She hadn't seen her before either. Something just felt off.

She decided not to think about it and walked over to Danny. He was sitting at the counter again, just finishing his slice of pie and coffee. He looked more relaxed and Happy comparing to the last time he was there.

"So, you are leaving tomorrow?", she questioned carefully.

"Yes", Danny answered calmly. "But I'm planning on getting back here someday."

Amy smiled. "That's nice." She frowned. "You have a family... in the city?"

Danny swallowed hard, his smile disappearing. "I guess you could say or that way", he muttered before draining his mug of coffee.

Amy looked at the young couple sitting at the near by table. They looked like they could use some more wine. She quickly faced Danny, a smile still on her face. "Well, Merry Christmas", she greeted.

Danny smiled shyly and put the money on the counter. "Merry Christmas."

As Amy stored the money in the cash box, Danny stood up, adjusted his costume, put his hat on, and walked away, closing the door behind. He put the bag back on the, picked it up, and started walking down the street.

The brunette was looking through the near by window for some time. She then put some money on the table and left in a hurry.

Amy looked at her, feeling that something was "off", before walking over to the table to pick up the money.

Lilly frowned. "So, that "cute brunette girl" followed him outside that night?"

"Well, I can't tell that she really followed him, not for sure", Amy clarified. "I only known that, when he left, she left too."

Scotty sighed. "And that was the last anyone has ever seen him alive."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't own any of the Cold Case characters and I am not making any money from writing this.
> 
> Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.
> 
> Since Cold Case never had a Christmas episodes, I'm not sure about Christmas parties and stuff... I just made a note about that.
> 
> Megan is Nick's former girlfriend. They really bonded in episode 7x20 "Free Love".

Nick moved away and observed the Christmas decorations that he had put on the ceiling. Megan smiled, walking into the living room from a near by kitchen.

"Thank you once again for coming over", she said sweetly.

He chuckled. "No problem. I'm glad to help." They both sat down on the near by couch. There was a nicely decorated Christmas tree near by, close to the TV. "Though I have to be back to work soon. Lunch break ain't last long."

"Listen... I've been thinking..."

"Yes?"

Megan ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know if you have any plans, but... would you mind dropping by... here... on Christmas?", she asked, her breath hitching.

Nick looked at her for a few moments before smiling brightly. "No problem."

Megan smiled back, chuckling as she did.

#

Lilly coughed, following Scotty to the workroom as he carried the box full of still dusty items toward his desk.

"The police work with Stephen's phone records seemed a bit thin", he explained. " I did some more research and found out that he received many phones from a cheap motel located in the same neighborhood like "The Walters' Diner", matching to the dates when he remembered Danny had called him." "I called them and found out that somebody was signed as a guest there from December 10th to December 24th. Mark Dickens."

"Real original", Lilly commented.

"He didn't return following December 24th. Two days later, his room was cleaned out and given to another guest." "His stuff were stored in the storage and remained there till this day."

"How considerate", Lilly commented sarcastically.

"I hope we find some lead soon", he said, trying to sound casual. "Christmas time and all..."

Lilly glared at him briefly, but quickly turned her attention back to the computer.

"I'm going to spend it with my mom, of course", Scotty said, going through the victim's things. He chuckled. "I heard some talks about somebody setting up a Christmas party here... we are probably one of the few department that don't normally host those."

"Maybe there is a reason for that", Lilly snapped, and Scotty gulped. He decided to let the matter drop for some time. Luckily, Kat peeked into the work room at about that time.

"We got a tip about the case", she informed them.

Lilly stood up immediately. "Already?", she exclaimed.

Kat nodded her head. "Yes. A woman named Tracy Miller claims she met the victim sometime prior to his murder."

#

The soup kitchen where Tracy Miller worked consistent of about fifteen wide tables, five to seven chairs placed in front of them. Almost all the spots were occupied, with people, mostly senior citizen and youths, eating their food hungrily. Tracy Miller, a young, petite African American woman, adjusted her gravy stained apron before walking over to the two detectives. "I remember him. He volounteered here for about a week. Real dedicated." "I recognized him as soon as I saw the photograph on the news. I often wondered what happened to him." She sighed. "Now I know."

"You think it may be related to this place somehow?", Lilly asked.

"Not really, but I guess any help is necessary. We did have some cases of theft and vandalism that year. I reported it to the police, but I don't know if anything came out of that. It stopped after Christmas. There must be a report on those somewhere."

"Did he ever get in trouble here?", Kat asked. "Tell you something about the problems that he might have had?"

Tracy shook her head. "I didn't notice anything suspicious. And he didn't talk much about himself. Kinda secretive." She sighed. "But he was polite, nice. He worked hard. I was sad when he stopped showing up." She looked away. "Now I know why."

(All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey)

Tracy helped an eldery woman move to her seat, glancing at Danny as she did. Danny put the plate full of chicken soup on the counter in front of an eldery man in a scuffy coat. "Here you go", he said, smiling warmly. The man thanked him and went to sit on one of the few remaining spots left.

Tracy was about to carry a bucket full of potatoes to the kitchen when she tripped and dropped it. Potatoes landed all over the floor.

She groaned, bent over and quickly began picking them up, putting them back in the bucket. Seeing that there were no other customers to serve, Danny immediately rushed over to help her.

"You don't have to...", she said.

"It's OK."

She didn't even notice that a CD box had fallen out of her pocket too. Danny picked or up and observed it for a moment. Tracy stopped, noticing that.

"10 Mile Stereo, huh", he read, his face lightening up. He looked up at Tracy. "I like them", he commented before handing the CD back to her.

Tracy blushed, pulling the box down her pocket. "They're great."

They just finished putting the potatoes back in the bocket. Danny stood up, the bucket in hand. "I... I heard that they have a concert in... the city the next year." "Are you planning on going?"

Tracy smiled. "I don't know. Maybe."

Danny smiled back. "Good to know." He looked around, almost shyly. "I'll take this into the kitchen", he commented, walking into the room near by.

Tracy smiled, looking after him, before noticing a young man just walking in.

"I was pretty busy these days. Didn't really catch much much that case." She sighed, a sad look appearing on her face. "I guess, after some time, everyone stopped talking about it."

"Do you know anyone else we may talk to?", Lilly asked, in a hopeful voice.

"Maybe Alan Summer", Tracy answered after some thinking. "He lives a few blocks away. He drops by occasionally. Donates some food, sometimes volounteers. He was here a few times that year too."

Lilly and Kat thanked her, then left. They made sure to leave some money in the gift basket near the door on their way out.

#

Alam slowly climbed off the ladder, having just finished putting the Christmas lights on his house. "Yeah, I've been there a few times", he admitted. "Like I do every year. But I don't remember that guy, sorry."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... that was kind of a hard year for me. A lot of pressure on the job, my daughter moving out... lots of stuff."

"Can we talk to your wife?"

Alan's face fell. "She passed away from cancer. Ten years ago."

"I'm sorry."

Alan just nodded his head, looking down at the ground. He seemed to be trying to sort his thoughts. "Now that I think about it...", he eventually said. "That year, I've been seeing some suspicious guy near that soup kitchen."

Kat raised her eyebrows. "Near?"

"Yes. Alleyways, cafes... sort of lurking around, chatting up teenagers, homeless people."

"You didn't report him to the police?", Lilly asked.

"I had a few times before, with other guys, but unless you actually witness a crime or there's evidence..."

"Can you describe him?", Kat asked.

Alan frowned. "In his twenties, African American. Kind of short." He grimaced. "I don't remember much else, sorry."

#

Keith definitely looked older than he did on the latest mugshot. He was sitting on the bench in a park, underneath the oak tree, and only glanced at Scotty and Nick once they stopped approaching him, having stood mere inches away.

"Hey there, Keith", Nick said, flashing his badge. Scotty did the same. He sat down on the bench, left to Keith, while Nick did the same on the right side.

"Watcha want?", Keith asked, obviously unpleased to see them there.

Scotty pulled out the photograph of Danny and showed it to Keith. "This guy got killed late in December. 2005. Likely in this neighborhood. You ever saw him?"

"Nah", Keith replied. "Why have you come to me in the first place?"

"We re opened the case and did some research", Scotty explained. "No suspicious reports in 2005, but in 2007 you were arrested on multiple drug charges. Some dating back to 2005. You just recently got out on probation."

"We have a witness who saw the person matching your description near the soup kitchen where the victim volounteered", Nick explained. "Multiple times."

"Many people live there, walk there. Many people look similar to me."

"Maybe the trip to the precinct will refresh your memory", Scotty suggested. "Of course, we will have to search you first."

Keith stared intently at him, then at Nick, before sighing and leaning back against the bench.

"Look, I never saw that guy", he said. "But something weird happened on that Christmas Eve..."

Keith was standing in the corner, looking around. Slow night. One would think that there would be a lot of depressed, lonely people in a need for a high in this time of a year, but still...

He flinched. He thought he heard something.

There it was.

Footsteps approaching.

He turned around and saw a petite young woman, with very light brown hair, approaching him.

He smirked.

Even in the dark, he could see it.

Pupils dialeted, arms shaking, almost no color to her face... there it was.

She stopped mere inches away from him, smiling awkwardly. "Hi."

He decided to cut to the chase. "What do you need?"

"Cocaine... just one package, please."

Keith frowned. "How much do you got?"

The girl turned even more pale than she already was. She shivered. "I... I don't have any money... yet."

Keith grimaced, feeling rage beginning to boil inside of him. He clenched his fists. "Get outta here!", he hissed.

But the girl didn't leave. "Come on!", she cried. "I will pay you back first thing tomorrow, I promise."

Keith couldn't help but chuckle. "Is this some kind of a joke?"

"I'm serious", the girl said sheepishly. Keith mumbled something and looked away.

And once again, she didn't leave. Instead, she rubbed her eyes and adjusted her hair, trying to appear calm. The next thing he knew, her body was leaned into his. "Come on", she whispered, trying to sound seductive. He felt her hot breath against his lips. Her hand stroked at his stomach. He shuddered. "There must be other ways... I can... earn it", she mused before placing a gentle kiss at the side of his neck.

"Leave", Keith growled, pushing the gurl away so hard that she hit with her back against the walk. She groaned.

The next thing he knew, the gun was pointed at his head. The girl looked at him with watery eyes, her hand shaking, her teeth gritted. "Just... one... package", she managed to say.

Keith grinned, his hands raised slightly despite of himself. "Come on, girl. Put that away until you injury yourself."

"I need it!", she screamed, taking a step closer.

Keith saw his opportunity and grabbed it. He gripped at the girl's wrist and pushed himself against her, putting all of his body strength into that struggle. He slammed her with her back against the wall once again. She tried to kick him with her legs, with her other hand, but couldn't.

Neither could grab the gun either. It fell out of the girl's hand and landed into a near by gutter.

She instantly leaned over and reached for it, yelling in desperation.

Keith kneed her into the stomach. She cried out and fell down on the ground, instantly curled into a ball. Just in case, he kicked her in the ribs. She cried and covered her face with her hands.

Keith searched her pockets but found nothing. He looked down at her with contempt, then ran away.

"You're a swell guy, Keith", Nick commented sarcastically.

"She was alive when I left", Terrace claimed. "That was self defense. And once again, I never even saw that Santa Claus guy!"

"Do you remember what kind of the gun that girl owned?", Nick asked.

Terrace grinned. "Sweet piece. Caliber .45."

Nick and Scotty exchanged a look.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't own any of the Cold Case characters and I am not making any money from writing this.
> 
> Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.

It was early in the morning. Will poured himself some coffe before taking another look at the items on the ceiling. John stood near by, about to go into his office. There were few people in there.

"That's new", Will mumbled.

John glanced at him. "What?"

"The decorations. The music."

John sighed, looking away. "I guess it was about time", he said silently.

Will looked around. "There are talks some may set up a party or something here", he said, almost teasingly. "On Christmas, I mean."

Will saw a young clerk approaching him, a file in hand. They exchanged a few words before he took the file.

John was looking at him curiously. Will opened the file and quickly flipped through the content, before chuckling briefly.

"What is it?", John asked, walking over to him.

Will grinned. "I spoke to the patrole unit. As it turns out, late at night of Decemner 24th 2005, Bruce Walters got a parking ticket a mile away from the place where the body was found."

#

Bruce tapped with his fingers against the interrogation room table, avoiding to look at the parking ticket placed in front of him. His hair was a mess and his shirt was wrinkled. Nick was sitting at that table, opposite to him. Kat, standing near by, glared at Bruce.

"This ticket doesn't look good for you, Bruce", Nick commented, as Bruce shifted in his seat.

"So what?", he asked. "That doesn't prove anything."

"It does prove you were near the crime scene", Nick pointed out.

Bruce sighed, looking around. "What do you want from me?"

"We want the truth, Bruce", Kat said, walking over to him. "What happened? Danny thought you weren't treating your employees far? Confronted you? Threatened you? Things got out of hand?"

"No!", Bruce cried.

"We are currently in the process of obtaining the search warrant", Nick informed him. "For your diner, home, car... what do you think we might find, huh?"

Bruce groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I was taking the trash out and... that's when I found him", he said silently, looking away.

Nick frowned. "Found who?"

"Santa Claus!", Bruce exclaimed. "That... Danny. He was dead." He rubbed his forehead. "So I threw the trash, I went to my car. I wrapped him, I mean, his body, in some protective plastic, put it in the trunk of my car, together with the triphold and the gun... I cleaned up thr blood with the towel, drove over to that river and threw the body in there. I threw the triphold in the near by forest. I threw the towel and the shell casings in the dumpster a few miles away."

"What about the gun, Bruce?", Kat asked.

Bruce gulped, answering a few moments later. "I hid it underneath the floor boards in my basement. I though it might... come at hand sometime. Nothing illegal, of course", he exclaimed.

"Sure", Nick said sarcastically. "What about the money? In the bag, in the triphold?"

"There was no bag! There was no money!"

A short silence ensued. Bruce was looking around, sweating heavily.

"Why did you do that?", Kat asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Bruce sighed. "I had a record, the diner didn't have some bright history either... do you have any idea how a murder near by would reflect on me? On my business?"

Nick said nothing, and neither did Kate.

#

Lilly sat at her desk, having just finished reading the autopsy report again. No new leads. She sighed and closed the file. "How long till the ballistics finish examining the gun?", she wondered out loud, more than asked.

"In about an hour or two", Scotty answered, not looking up. He was reading Danny's diary. "And then they have to run the serial number."

Lilly sighed. She was looking down at her desk for some time, tapping with her fingers against it's surface. "I can take Christina home", she said under her breath, her cheeks blushing.

Scotty looked up, his eyes wide. Lilly leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Temporarily", she elaborated. "For Christmas. I can take her home, if she agrees. If we both agree."

Scotty remained silent for some time. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Does she agree."

Lilly shook her head. "I don't know. She hasn't... expressed herself about it. The rehab facility has a web site, I found out about it from there."

Scotty shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't know."

Lilly bit her lower lip. "I doubt it."

She looked away, fondling her hands together. Scotty was looking at her intently. "I'm used to spending Christmases alone. Ever since the graduation, actually." She sighed. "Maybe it could turn out well. But if it doesn't... I will just cause more damage. I don't want to risk anything." She looked Scotty in the eyes. He shuddered. "But again, that could mean a lot to her." She ran her hand through her hair. "If she wants it."

"Maybe you should, really, just ask her", Scotty suggested carefully. Lilly raised her eyebrows at him. He continued. "Even of it leads to an argument, it will just be an argument over a question. And you will know what to expect."

Lilly chuckled sadly. "As bad as this sounds, I actually wonder, among other thing, will I be able to handle it." She grimaced. "But, the truth is, I always liked Christmas... only sometimes... I hate how much it makes me feel."

Scotty nodded his head. "You feel like everything is possible... and that everything will be good." He sighed. "But, sooner or later, you have to realize that life doesn't work that way."

"I don't think that Bruce did it", Scotty said. "He was awfully eager to confess to everything else."

"Yeah", Lilly agreed. "And we still don't know who "the mystery girl" is..."

Scotty shrugged. "It may really be just a coincidences. Lots of junkies and drug dealers in some parts of that neighborhood."

Lilly frowned at the notebook in Scotty's hand. "Is this Danny's diary?", she asked.

"Yes... he started writing it sometime after his sister committed suicide, but it describes the events prior to that point." He flipped through the pages, stopping near the beginning. "This is messed up..."

(Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley)

Jenny was sitting on the living room couch, looking down on the floor. She was slowly rocking her body back and forth. Her face was pale.

Danny was standing in front of the near by mirror, buttoning his shirt. "I'll be back late", he said, still concentrated on his reflection. "Don't wait up. The dinner is in the oven."

No response.

He adjusted his collar. "I'll be home for Christmas, don't worry", he muttered.

Nothing.

Danny turned around. Jenny was looking down at the floor.

He walked over to her, appearing concerned. "Jenny?"

She sighed.

"Are you OK?", he asked gently.

Jenny shrugged, her fingers clenching. "I just wish you would make some time for me", she whispered, not looking up.

Danny leaned over, trying to smile. "There will be time", he said softly. "We got the whole live ahead of us."

Jenny slowly raised her head, looking him in the eyes. Her lips were quivering. "I bet that mom and dad thought the same", she said.

Silence. The color left Danny's place.

"We would spend every Christmas with them... until now", Jenny whispered.

Danny flinched. He moved away, his jaw clenched. "Like I said, the dinner's in the oven", he repeted before turning away. "Don't wait up."

He left, slamming the door shut behind himself. Jenny was staring, blankly, at the wall.

Scotty sighed, putting the diary down on the table. "You can guess the rest. When he arrived home, she was dead."

"Anything useful?"

"He rarely refers to anyone by names, the entries don't yield any suspects."

They sat there in silence for some time, each deep in thought. Eventually, Scotty sighed and flipped through the last few pages, trying to clear his head.

"Anyway... the last few pages... those are almost completely unreadable", he explained. "The storage room was moist, dusty... the letters are badly smeared." He stopped, his eyes growing wide. "Stephen."

"What?", Lilly asked.

"The least readable entry is of December 20th. On one of the... damaged pages, you can see "Stephen" written multiple times." He looked up at Lilly. "And Steven claimed that he hadn't seen Danny since early in the December that years."

"Maybe Danny was just thinking of his friend", Lilly suggested. "And wrote his emotions and feelings down."

Scotty smirked, handling her the diary. "There is one more readable word. A little after the first mention of Stephen."

Lilly's eyes went wide as she read that part. ""Showed up.""

#

"You lied, Stephen", Lilly exclaimed. "You saw Danny the day before he got killed."

Stephen gulped. "I didn't."

"We found his diary", Scotty said. "You did."

Lilly put a copy of the newspaper on the table in front of him. Stephen leaned back in his chair, feeling goosebumps. "The Christmas concert", she exclaimed. "Held on December 23th, two blocks away from the motel where he was staying."

Stephen said nothing.

"Look at the photographs. You will see him."

"What did he write?", Stephen asked, feeling himself flinch.

Lilly smirked. "How about you tell us what happened first?"

Stephen sighed, tears in his eyes. "Nothing bad." He smiled sadly. "It was the nice... last meeting."

(Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Mariah Carey)

Danny was leaving the motel through the back door, already wearing his Santa suit and holding a triphold in his hand. He didn't want anyone see him like that. It was a sunny day, but still, the snow had already started falling.

"Danny!"

Danny stopped, having heard a familiar voice. He shuddered and looked up. Stephen stood the few feet away, breathing heavily. He was wearing a shirt, coat, and jeans. His face was red, his skin coated in sweat.

"Stephen!", Danny exclaimed, as Danny rushed over to him. "How did you find me?"

Stephen exhaled. "I saw your picture in the magazine. I googled it and found out that there was a motel near by. I was just looking around."

"What are you doing here?", Danny asked.

Stephen sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "This is crazy, Danny. Come back." "At least spend a Christmas with me. Your friend."

Danny looked at Stephen intently, having troubles coming up with the words. "I can't", he said under his breath. Stephen's face fell. But I will come back", Danny said assuringly.

"When?", Stephen cried.

Danny smiled warmly. "After Christmas. Once I donate all the money that I've collected."

He put the triphold down and pulled a photograph out of his pocket. He showed it to the still confused Stephen. The photographs featured Danny and Jenny standing in front of the records store, hugged. On the photograph, they were obviously in their early teens.

"The record store, downtown", Danny said, smiling. "I told you about that, remember? Our parents would take us there all the time. Especially around Christmas." He chuckled. "We heard some of the first Christmas songs there."

He moved away and looked Danny in the eyes, still smiling. "I will buy it. With the money that will remain out of my savings and the money I've collected. I will re-name it, after Jenny." He sighed in relief. "I needed time. To find myself, learn how important it is to help others. To listen. To make them happy." He shuddered, his eyes growing watery. "Now I do."

Just as he finished the sentence, Stephen rushed over and hugged him tightly. Danny just stood there, straddled, for a short while, before hugging him back just as strong.

"You didn't mention that before", Lilly pointed out.

Stephen sighed, smiling sadly. "I figured it wouldn't have been of much help. He was leaving that area. He called me once after that. It was up to the police to carry on from there." He shuddered. "I just wanted to keep one good memory for myself."

#

Lilly was standing near the coffee machine, pouring herself another cup. Scotty was standing near by, deep in though. Kat, standing in between, just finished talking to John, and was going through the forensic reports one more time.

"I don't think Stephen did it", Lilly said. "He appeared honest. And he has no motive."

"Money is always the good motive", John pointed out. "The money that Danny was collecting was never found."

"He had no finantial problems, as far we have been able to find out", Will said, walking over to them from the near by break room.

John frowned. "And what about that young brunette? She acted suspicious. She had the gun. The right caliber."

Scotty shook his head. "I'm not completely buying Keith's story."

Kat sighed. "Well, Amy went through the mugshots of women matching the description, and she couldn't positively identify anyone as the woman that she had seen."

They barely even noticed Nick Vera walking over to them. He looked surprisingly cherfull, and he was holding a file in his hand.

"We have a match", he exclaimed. "The gun was registered to Alan Summer."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't own any of the Cold Case characters and I am not making any money from writing this.
> 
> Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.
> 
> This is the final chapter! Sorry about the wait! I hope you enjoy it!

Alan shifted in the chair. He was sitting at the table in the interrogation room, opposite to Lilly and John. Slight drops of sweat reflected on his forehead. The camera near by was running. "Yes, that was my gun. But I reported it stolen."

"Yeah, you did", John admitted, opening the file on the table in front of him. "But you did so a month after Danny was murdered, claiming that it had gotten stolen the day before."

Alan smiled nervously. "Well, that is when I noticed that it was missing."

Lilly calmly put the file, that she had been holding in her hands, down on the table. She opened it, revealing several copies of the photographs inside.

The first one showed Alan embracing a young brunette, in her mid teens. It was taken in some sort of a park. The second featured that same girl, a bit older, sitting on the bed, obviously in her room.

Alan gulped, his lips quivering. Lilly tilted her head to the side. "We spoke to the neigbhbors. This is your daughter, Bridget."

"It turns out, you two had been fighting a lot. She dropped out of school in the tenth grade. Soon after she turned eighteen, you kicked her out."

Alan flinched, trying to remain calm. "Bridget was a troubled girl. We had the problems, I won't deny it." He sighed. "Man... you are really scrapping my bottom." He straightened himself up. "I won't admit to something I didn't do."

John leaned over, fondling his hands together. "Bridget was more than a troubled girl, Alan. We made a few called. The day you kicked her out, a month before Christmas, you actually moved her to the rehab facility on Long Island. From where she escaped on December 23rd 2005."

"So what?", he muttered.

"Do you want us to pick her up right now?", Lilly suggested. "Book her? Or we can simply charge you with murder. You lived near by, your gun was used."

(Baby It's Cold Outside by Holiday Wishes)

Alan was bouncing back and forth on his bed, unable to sleep. He eventually stopped to lie on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He sighed, thinking of the things that could have been.

He stirred upon hearing the loud banging on the door. He remained still, listening carefully, hoping that it was all some sort of mistake. But soon, he heard two more loud knocks.

He glanced at the phone, thinking about calling the police. But what if the guy would escape by the time they got there? What if there was no real danger? They would give him the hard time at the end. Not to mention the neighbors.

Alan took a deep breath, reached into the bedside drawer, and pulled out the gun.

He started walking down the stairs carefully, listening attentively, analysists every noise, as he moved down the stairs, into the hallway, and toward the front door.

The knocking, hanging, didn't stop. Somebody outside was breathing heavily. He saw a petite siluete through the small, blurred window on the door.

Alan stopped mere inches away from the door, barely breathing. He wrapped his hand around the lock, feeling himself shiver. He slowly unlocked the door and pulled it half open, keeping the gun half raised.

And then he saw her.

His daughter, standing at his door.

Her face was pale, her long brown hair a mess, her big brown eyes widened and watery. She was shivering, gripping at her forearms. "Dad", she exclaimed, trying to smile. Her eyes trailed down to the firearm in his hand. She took a step back. "Wow..."

Alan looked at his gun, shuddering. He struggled to wrap his mind around that whole situation. "There's been some burglaries lately", he commented before looking her in the eyes. "You shouldn't be here", he said sternly. "I know that they wouldn't have let you go." He put the gun, almost absent-mindedly, down on a near by window shelf.

Bridget grinned, tapping with her foot against the ground. "Come on, dad... it's Christmas time!"

Alan took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions. "It's time for you to get clean!" He looked around: all the windows on the neighboring houses were still in dark. "And they still haven't called me", he mumbled.

"Oh, yeah, there is some sort of a blackout there now", Bridget commented. "You haven't heard."

Alan rolled his eyes before turning to face her. He lowered his voice. "I will not give you more money! I will not allow you to steal money so you could get high! I will not look away anymore! You need help."

"Just a few days, dad", Bridgete almost begged, tears in her eyes.

Alan took a deep breath, taking a step back from Bridgete. He did his best to appear calm. "Six months is six month." He looked around. "This is all... a temptation for you." He looked at her, accusingly. "How can I know that you didn't get high before coming him, huh?"

"Do I look like that?", she spat out.

Alan just stared at her, disappointment evident on his face, as well is in his eyes. "I will now drive you back, right away, and won't see you until you're done." He sighed. "Maybe not even then."

Bridget just stared at him, and he went back inside, closing the door behind. And leaving the gun on the window shelf.

Alan sighed, pale, running a hand through his hair. "When I returned, she was gone, and so was the gun. I was freaked out. I contacted police stations, hospitals... got nothing. I eventually found out that she returned and that she was fine. She now lives in Brooklyn. I reported the gun stolen a month later and never talked to her about that." He shuddered, burrying his face in his hands. "What have I done?", he cried.

Lilly observed him, pain evident on her face.

#

Christina actually looked pretty well. Healthy. Her skin was a bit lighter than usual but that was about it. She was wearing a white T-shirt, a bit baggy, and the washed-up jeans. The visiting room always reminded Lilly way too much of prison visiting rooms, but maybe she was just imagining things. The two of them were sitting at the small table, facing each other: there were a few other tables in the room too, all unoccupied.

"Doing well?", Lilly asked.

Christina smiled a bit. "We'll have a turkey dinner today, so... yes, I guess."

They exchanged a brief chuckle. "How's yoir job?", Christine asked, kind of awkwardly.

"Good", Lilly answered. "We are about to close a big case, so... we'll have some time off these days."

"That's good."

"You haven't told me about the rule", Lilly said, making Christina flinch. She waited for a moment, making sure her emotions were under control, before continuing. "That I can take you home for Christmas if I want to."

Christina blushed, looking down at the floor. "I didn't know how", she admitted.

"But you wanted to", Lilly questioeds.

Christina looked up at her, her lips quivering. "I miss you", she admitted under her breath. "But I am not sure... even with you around... can I trust myself."

Lilly smiled and squeezed her hand.

#

Bridget smiled nervously, trying to think of the right words. She was sitting at the table in the interrogation room, opposite to Lilly and Scotty. Her hair was now more of a shoulder length, with bangs, and she was a bit thinner. "I took that gun, yes", she admitted. "I don't know why. I was sad, scared out of my mind... but I came to my senses. I threw it in the dumpster a few blocks away. I don't know what happened to it after that. Is that why you dragged me all the way from Brooklyn to here?"

"Bridget, we have two witnesses who saw you in the close proximity of the crime scena around that time", Scotty informed her. "They both identified you in a line up. One even confirmed that you tried to rob him with the gun of the matching caliber?"

"You're buying that thug's story?", Bridget scoffed.

The color immediately left her face, eyes widening as she realized that she had incriminated herself.

"We do, now", Lilly exclaimed.

Bridget gulped, looking down at the floor.

"Your father basically abandoned you", Scotty said, making Bridget Summer flinch. "You were alone, sad, angry. Wanted to get high. But you had no money. You took the gun. You wanted to somehow obtain drugs from that dealer, but that didn't work. After somehow getting your gun out of that gutter, you went to that diner. Maybe you've seen Dan s before, collecting money. You probably planned to rob a diner, but eventually decided to focus on a single target, Danny. You went in the diner, observed him, followed him outside, and things got out of hand."

"No", Bridget whispered, avoiding to look at them.

A long, tense silence followed.

"You can talk", Scotty said, matter of factly. "Or we can call the DA. Let him take over. Murder one, twenty five to life. If you're lucky."

"I want a lawyer", Bridget demanded.

"Fine", Lilly agreed. "I hope you know the one who can make the gun and those witnesses disappear."

Scotty shrugged. "Of course, if this goes to trial, your defense will have no choice but to try and pin everything on your father."

"No!", Bridget cried, tears in her eyes.

Lilly leaned over, glaring at Bridget. "Late on December 24th, you came back to the rehab. Refused to undergo a drug test." Bridget bit her lower lip, looking away. "But you staid there for the remaining three months and got clean."

Bridget shivered, clenching her fists. "I finally realized what the drugs made me become", she muttered.

"A killer?", Scotty commented, raising an eyebrows.

Bridget looked down at the floor again, her shoulders hunched and her breathing shallow. Tears were running down her face.

"Aren't you tired, Bridget?", Lilly asked softly.

Bridget nodded her head. "Yes", she whispered.

She looked up at Lilly and Scotty, her eyes watery and cheeks flushed. "I'm so sorry", she groaned.

Bridget was following Danny into the alleyway, feeling her heart beats in her throat.

He never noticed her. He just kept walking away, whistling some Christmas song. Holding a triphold in his hand.

Bridget shivered and took a deep breath. Her hand tightened around the gun handle.

Few more steps. They moved close to the sidewalk. Bridget looked around; there was no people near by.

She took a deep breath and pulled out the gun.

That was it...

She ran in front of Danny, instantly pointing the gun at his head. She stopped about a feet away from him. He gasped upon staring down the barrel, the triphold falling out of his hand.

"Give me the money!", Bridget demanded, her body tingling with jolts. "Now!"

Danny slowly raised his hands up, a scared look on his face. His lips slowly formed a grimace. "No..."

"The triphold", Bridget said, a bit calmer. "Pick it up and just give me the money. That all."

"They need the money...", he tried.

"I need it!", Bridget cried, her finger sliding down the trigger.

"You have problems", he said softly.

"No shit", she spat out.

Danny smiled nervously. "I can help you. It is never too late."

"Just give me the damn money."

"Try to think rational. How long will this money last? What will it bring you?"

"Ugh!", Bridget groaned. She leaned over, trying not to disrupt her aim, and reached for the triphold herself.

In the next moment, she heard Danny quickly taking a few steps closer to her, and felt his hand gripping her right wrist. She groaned, straightening herself up right away.

And then Bridget pulled the trigger.

She stopped like frozen, with eyes wide, and watch as the bullet penetrated Danny's cheek, dark blood splattering all over his skin.

He let out a blood quirling scream, putting a hand over his wound, and started to lose balance.

The terror rushed to Bridget's core, tears blurrying her eyesight. Before she even registered what really happened, she pulled the trigger again.

This time, the bullet hit Danny straight in the forehead.

His hand falling back to his side, coated with blood, he stared at Bridget lifelessly, and then fell down on the ground, face up.

His beloved photograph fell out of his pocket and slipped into a near by gutter.

Bridget let out a sob, the gun falling down on the ground.

She ripped the bag off the tripod, pressed it against her chest, and ran away, sobbing, without looking back.

(White Christmas by Bing Cosby)

Bridget didn't say a word as Lilly and Scotty led her, handcuffed, toward the holding cell. They ended up walking under the mistletoe about half way to there. They exchange a look and withheld a laugh before continuing on their way...

Lilly, Scotty and Kat walked over to the table placed in the middle of the main workroom, followed by John and Nick. The table was filled with plates full of cookies, and there was a bowl of non alcoholic punch and a small break basket. Will placed a plate containing some ham and cheese on the table before they all exchanged smiles...

Bruce sighed and leaned his head against the hard grey cell wall tiredly. Who would have thought that something as trivial as moving the corpse from point A to point B and dispose of some evidence would have such serious consequences...

Keith stood at the street corner, looking around. Somehow, the business wasn't going well lately. He saw a patrole car driving by and quickly walked away...

Bridget was sitting on her bunk, looking down at the floor, now wearing a baggy orange jumpsuit. She looked toward the cell door upon hearing the footsteps approaching.

Alan stood there, wrapping his hand around one of the bars, struggling to even look Bridget in the eyes.

Bridget just stared back at him for some time, her eyes wide and her cheeks blushed, before standing up and walking, slowly, over to her father.

She looked him in the eyes for a moment, and then gently put her hand over his.

And formed a small smile.

Thus making him do the same...

Amy handed the cupcake to a young buy at her bakery story before storing the money in the cash books. She watched him walk away with a smile on her face, remembering how long it had taken her to make her dream come true...

Nick straightened himself up and put a green Christmas ball on the Christmas tree, bear the top, while, standing by his side, adjusted one of the Christmas ornaments wrapped around it. They stopped and exchanged a warm smile.

In the next moment, she leaned over and kissed him on the lips. He was so surprised that it took him a few seconds to realize what had happened, and then he kissed her back...

Scotty smiled at his mother and father, sitting at the dining room table surrounded by his family members, before handing his sister a gravy...

Lilly filled all three food bowls, placed on the floor near the Christmas tree, with cat food, but only saw and around. After looking around, she walked into a near by hallway and spotted Christina standing near the stari case, holding in her hands and parting him. Two sisters exchanged a smile...

The soup kitchen was full as ever, with barely any seats left. Stephen exchanged some words with Tracy before giving her a grocery bag containing the plastic containers filled with food. She smiled and took it.

Somehow, at around the same moment, they both looked through the large window near by and saw Danny standing out front, still dressed in a Santa Claus costume, with a triphold in his hand.

He smiled warmly at them, his eyes sparkling with happiness, before turning around and walking away, slowly, into a pure, bright light.

~THE END~


End file.
